Occupant seat

ABSTRACT

An occupant seat of vehicles including a spring structure having a buffer body mounted thereon, said spring structure including a plurality of spring elements juxtaposed in a horizontal plane, each of which is integrally formed of supporting hooks disposed at both ends and a pair of coil spring portions positioned near the hooks.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,848,926 Kuroishi Nov. 19, 1974 OCCUPANTSEAT 3,107,944 10/1963 Baermann 297/452 3,142,073 7/l964 Stern 297/452 X[75] Inventor. Kenltiro Kurolshl, Yokohama, 3,586,375 6/197] Rathbun I II 297/452 Japan 3,653,712 4 1972 Sarvas 297/452 Assignee: p g Co. Ltd.3,674,31 l 7/1972 Miller 297/452 Yokohama-shi, Japan FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 22 Filed; 2 1972 1,933,75l 6/1970 Germany 297/452 422,5201/1935 Great Britain 297/452 [21] Appl. No.: 318,661 I PrimaryExaminer-Paul R. Gilliam 30 For i A l-cafio P i0 D ta AssistantExaminerDoris L. Troutman 1 e gn pp r n y a Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Kemon, Palmer &

Mar. 3, 1972 Japan 47-26272 Estabrook Mar. 3, 1972 Japan..... 47-26274Mar. 3., I972 Japan 47-26275 ABSTRACT 52 US. 01. 297/452 An OccupantSeat of vehicles including a Spring struc- [51] Int. Cl. A47c 7/02 turehaving a buffer y mounted thereon Said [58] Field 6: Search 297/452,455; 5/247, 266 Spring structure including a plurality of spring e mentsuxtaposed 1n a horlzontal plane, each of wh1ch [56 References Ci isintegrally formed of supporting hooks disposed at UNITED STATES PATENTSboth ends and a pair of coil spring portions positioned near the hooks.2,633,185 3/1953 Emberson 297/452 3,084,980 4/1963 Lawson 297/DIG. l

3 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures This invention relates to an occupant seatincluding a spring structure.

Heretofore, the occupant seat of vehicles, for example, automobilesincludes a spring structure constructed by a large number of zigzagspring elements arranged in a horizontal plane and a buffer bodyprepared from synthetic resin foam, for example, polyurethane foam andmounted on said spring structure. With such seat, some spring elementsof the structure are forcefully expanded in a longitudinal direction dueto the occupants load being concentrated at the hip, causing the springelements of the central portion of said spring structure to be widelyseparated. Accordingly, the elastic force of the spring structure is notapplied uniformly all over the seat. Further, the occupants hip feelsclamping under the repulsive force of the expanded spring structure andalso a hard touch due to the widely separated spring elements, causingseating discomfort to the occupant. For elimination of such drawbacks,the spring structure would have to be considerably reinforced usingcomplicated arrangement, presenting difficulties in manufacture and inconsequence resulting in high cost.

It is accordingly the object of this invention to provide an occupantseat of simple construction and easy manufacture offering great seatingcomfort.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an occupantseat comprising a frame; a spring structure fitted to the frame; and aseating section mounted on the spring structure, the spring structureincluding a large number of single wire spring members, each of which isintegrally formed of hooks disposed at both ends of said wire forengagement with the frame, two coil spring portions positioned near thehooks and a central straight portion defined between said coil springportions.

The present invention can be more fully understood.

from the following detailed description when taken in connection withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an occupant seat according to anembodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wire-frame embedded in a buffer body;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the spring structure of the occupantseat as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a spring member included in the springstructure;

FIG. 8 is a fragmental plan view of a modified spring structure;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a spring member included in the springstructure of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the same as shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a fragmental side view of hook members of the springstructure;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a spring member according to anothermodification;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of an occupant seat according to stillanother modification; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the spring structure of FIG. 13.

There will now be described by reference to FIGS. 1

to 6 an occupant seat according to an embodiment of this invention.

Throughout the figures, numeral 20 denotes an occupant seat comprising aframe 21 formed by bending a metal tube in square form, a springstructure 22 supported by the frame 21 and a seating section of acushion or buffer body 23 prepared from synthetic resin foam and mountedon the spring structure 22.

The mutually facing side tubes 21a of the frame 21 are perforated with aplurality of engagement holes 24 arranged at a prescribed space. Withthe mutually facing ones of said engagement holes 24 are engaged hooks25a integrally formed at both ends of the spring members 25 constitutingthe spring structure 22. Said spring members 25 have a pair of coilspring portions I 25b positioned near the hooks 25a. An intermediatepart of each spring member 25 defined between the coil spring portions25b forms a central straight line 25c. Namely, the spring member 25 isconstructed simply by bending a single straight steel wire at both endsto form hooks 25a and further winding the portions of the spring member25 near the hooks 25a several times into -coil springs 25b, thusenabling quantity productron.

The spring structure 22 is constructed by engaging the hooks 25a of aplurality of the spring members 25 with the engagement holes 24 of theframe 21 so as to arrange said spring members 25 parallel at aprescribed space in a horizontal plane. In this case, it is possible tomake the spring member 25 shorter than the span of the frame 21, and fitit to the frame 21 with the coil springs 25b near both end portions ofsaid spring member 25 so stretched as to be subjected to an initialtension, that is, to use said coil springs 25b as a tension type. If thecoil springs 25b are formed of a prescribed number of turns, then therewill be imparted a required tension to the spring member 25 as a whole.Or the spring member 25 may have the same length as the span of theframe 21 without being subjected to any particular initial tension.

The spring members 25 are collectively provided with means which, whenan occupant sits on a seat, prevents the spring members 25 from beingdisplaced, namely, having their distance excessively widened. Accordingto this embodiment, said means consists, as

shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, of three pairs of polyvinyl chloride tapes 26,which are firmly attached to the upper and lower sides of the centralstraight lines 25c of the spring members 25 at the mid point and bothends of said central straight lines 25c so as to intersect them at rightangles. Both ends of each tape 26 extend sufficiently beyond the centralstraight lines of the spring members 25 constituting both edges of thespring structure 22. Said tapes 26 are bonded together except for thecentral straight lines 250, thereby holding the spring members 25securely in place so as to prevent their displacement under load. Thebonding of said tapes 26 may be effected by application of highfrequency waves or adhesive.

A buffer body or cushion 23 mounted on the spring structure 22 of theabove-mentioned arrangement consists of a soft polyurethane foam pad inwhich there are embedded a wire frame 27 constituting the outline of thecushion and a sheet of cheesecloth.

The occupant seat of the aforesaid construction includes a springstructure simply consisting of spring members and connectors orpolyvinyl chloride tapes for preventing their displacement thus enablingeasy manufacture. Further, when an occupant sits on the seat, the springmembers are not displaced in a longitudinal direction due to thepresence of said tapes, offering a uniform cushioning property by thejoint action of the spring structure and cushion body.

According to the foregoing embodiment, the intermediate portion of thespring member 25 defined between the coil springs 25b is formed of astraight wire. Obviously, said intermediate portion may be made into azigzag form in a horizontal plane.

A modified spring structure illustrated jointly by FIGS. 8 to 11comprises a plurality of horizontally juxtaposed spring members 30connected at both ends to the frame 21 and a plurality of connectors 31so disposed as to connect the adjacent ones of said spring members 30for prevention of their expansion in the longitudinal direction of thespring element. The spring member 30 is integrally formed of hooks 30adisposed at both ends, a pair of coil springs 30b positioned near saidhooks 30a, and an intermediate wave portion 30c defined between the coilsprings 30]). The connector 31 consists of a wave portion 31a matchingthe wave'portion 30c of the spring member and joining portions 31bformed at the crests and roots of said wave portion 31a. The springstructure 22 is assembled by engaging the crests and roots of theindividual waves of the wave portion of the spring member 30 with thejoining portions 31b formed at the crest and root of the wavesha'pedconnectors 31. The spring structure constructed as described above notonly displays the aforementioned advantage but also allows the occupantsload to be well distributed due to its mesh form, attaining an increasedcushioning property.

The wave portion 30c of the spring member 30 need not always be formedof acute angle waves indicated in FIG. 9 but may consist of, forexample, rectangular waves shown in FIG. 12.

The preceding two different spring structures have the spring members 25provided with additional means such as polyvinyl chloride tapes 26 andconnectors 31 respectively for preventing the expansion of said springmembers 25. Instead, such means may be incorporated in the cushion bodyitself as in the following embodiment. According to the embodimentillustrated jointly by FIGS. 13 and 14, a soft polyurethane foam cushion23 has a large number of lateral grooves 40 formed in its underside 23afully across at a prescribed interval. Said grooves 40 can be providedby foaming said polyurethane cushion so as to shape its bottom into anundulated pattern in cross section. The spring structure 22 shown inFIG. 14 is of exactly the same arrangement as that of the precedingembodiment of FIG. 5 except for the polyvinyl chloride tapes 26 used inFIG. 5. When the cushion 23 is mounted on the spring structure 22 withthe spring members 25 thereof fitted into the grooves 40, thedisplacement of said spring members 25 in the lateral direction of thespring structure 22 is prevented by said grooves 40, attaining the sameeffect as the preceding embodiments.

What is claimed is:

1. An occupant seat comprising a frame. a spring structure fitted to theframe and a seating section mounted on the spring structure, said springstructure including a plurality of parallel, unconnected spring membersconsisting of a single wire having a hook at both ends for engagementwith said frame, a coil portion adjacent each end and a straight centralportion between said coil portions, said seating section comprising abuffer body, the underside of said buffer body including a plurality ofparallel grooves so located in said underside that each of said springmembers extends into one of said grooves, such arrangement of saidspring members and grooves serving to prevent lateral displacement ofthe spring members.

2. The occupant seat of claim 1 wherein said buffer body is a cushionmolded of foam material.

3. The occupant seat of claim 2 wherein said cushion includes anembedded wire frame across which extends a fabric web.

1. An occupant seat comprising a frame, a spring structure fitted to theframe and a seating section mounted on the spring structure, said springstructure including a plurality of parallel, unconnected spring membersconsisting of a single wire having a hook at both ends for engagementwith said frame, a coil portion adjacent each end and a straight centralportion between said coil portions, said seating section comprising abuffer body, the underside of said buffer body including a plurality ofparallel grooves so located in said underside that each of said springmembers extends into one of said grooves, such arrangement of saidspring members and grooves serving to prevent lateral displacement ofthe spring members.
 2. The occupant seat of claim 1 wherein said bufferbody is a cushion molded of foam material.
 3. The occupant seat of claim2 wherein said cushion includes an embedded wire frame across whichextends a fabric web.